The present invention relates to server boot up in a network setting, and more particularly, the present invention is directed to booting up multiple servers in a datacenter network.
A typical datacenter may include many servers, numbering in the tens of thousands. Some of the largest datacenters may include hundreds of thousands of servers. Typically, each required server must be booted up in order for the datacenter to function properly. When there is a need to boot up the servers in a datacenter, there are several current methods that may be used. One method is to manually assign static IP addresses to all of the servers in the datacenter, which is a very time consuming process, particularly when more than a handful of servers are present in the datacenter. Another method is to rely on dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) to distribute network parameters, such as internet protocol (IP) addresses, for interfaces and services for each of the servers in the datacenter. This method is much faster than manual assignment, but requires the use of DHCP. In another approach, when the servers are enabled to use the preboot execution environment (PXE), PXE may be used to boot a software assembly, retrieved from the network, in each of the servers, after the IP address is assigned using DHCP. However, many administrators actively disable the use of DHCP and PXE in datacenters due to security concerns regarding the use of these protocols.